NEW YORK -- At a memorial service held for the late US diplomat Steve Bosworth last 20 February 2016 at the Harvard University Memorial Church in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Philippine Secretary of Foreign Affairs Albert Del Rosario delivered a personal eulogy for his old friend and fellow fighter for democracy.

During the event attended by Bosworth’s family, friends and colleagues from the US Foreign Service and the academe, the late Ambassador was mostly memorialized for his term in the Philippines because of his role in the peaceful overthrowing of dictatorship during the 1986 People Power Revolution, the highlight of his diplomatic career.

Secretary Del Rosario recalled his own encounters with then Ambassador to the Philippines Steve Bosworth during the pivotal EDSA Revolution. The two were already close friends then, and Secretary Del Rosario was tasked to engage Ambassador Bosworth for assistance when the dictatorship cut off all lines of communication between anti-Marcos rebels in Camp Aguinaldo and other military camps around the country. Ambassador Bosworth was credited with helping effectively manage the Marcoses’ eventual exit out of Manila.

Their friendship grew even deeper when Mr. Del Rosario became the Philippine Ambassador to the United States in 2001 and then the Secretary of Foreign Affairs in 2011. After having served as Ambassador to Tunisia, Republic of Korea and the Philippines, Ambassador Bosworth then took on the Deanship of Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University in Medford, MA. At the time of his death, Ambassador Bosworth was the chairman of the US-Korea Institute at the Pail H Nitze School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University.

“We Filipinos, in particular, claim a share of his memory, for his advocacy of our freedom, for his support of Philippine democracy and for his commitment to excellence in service, whether in Government or academe, from which Filipinos have also benefited. It is from Steve, and from staunch men and women like him, that we are forever inspired to build a better world for our children and our children's children.” Secretary Del Rosario concluded in his remarks.

The Secretary was joined by his wife, Gretchen, Ambassador Jose L. Cuisia, Jr. and Consul General Mario De Leon, Jr. at the event. Others who gave their remembrances were Former South Korean Foreign Minister Hang Sung Joo and Council on Foreign Relations President Richard Haass. – Vice Consul Khrys Corpuz, PCGNY